SAN BERNARDINO, California -- It’s taken Matt Goodwin longer to turn the corner into the winner’s circle than anyone expected when the Orange Show Speedway racing season got under way.
Goodwin, 17, was the ASA Stock Pony class rookie of the year in 2005, when he finished fourth in the standings. Last season, he was third, just two points behind class runner-up Adrianne Murlin, and finished in the top five in all but two of the 13 races. So when he won two main events during the speedway’s Winter Series, the general feeling was that his first regular season win was just around the corner.
The seventh race of the season will be run Saturday (June 16), when the Stock Pony regulars will join the Hype Manufacturing Super Late Models, ASA Pro 4s, ASA Factory Fours and Stock Cars USA, and Goodwin’s still waiting.
“It seems like our luck hasn’t quite come around,” said Goodwin, who will graduate from Elsinore High School on Wednesday (June 13) and celebrate his 18th birthday June 22. “Each time it looks like we’re going to do good, something bad happens. We just have to get over this little bad streak, I guess.
“For the most part it’s just been racing luck. We’ve had lapped cars run into us and stuff like that.”
Goodwin has had two seconds in his past three starts and just one finish out of the top five in the six races on the ASA-sanctioned quarter-mile oval. But that finish, a 10th on May 12 after he and Eddie Secord tangled in Turn 2 on the final lap while fighting for the lead that Goodwin held, just underscores his “racing luck” theory.
“More or less, it just drives us harder to get those wins,” said Goodwin, who has grandfather Bob Goodwin building his engines and father Bobby serving as his crew chief. “We’re really going to be out to win this one.”
Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. and racing gets under way at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (62 and over), handicapped and Juniors (13-16) and $2 for children (6-12). Active military personnel and veterans with valid military identification are admitted free of charge. In addition, in June members of the California Department of Forestry (CDF) and California Department of Corrections (CDC) who present their badges at the ticket office may receive up to four free tickets, courtesy of Orange Show Speedway management.
Parking is $4 per car with entry through Gate 3 off Mill Street.
Rick Chavez, of Lakeside, has expanded his Super Late Model class lead to 34 points after posting his second win of the season June 2. Chavez was third in the standings in 2005 and eighth last year, but missed the opening race in ’05 and the finale last year after suffering a heart attack. He is the only Super Late Model driver to have finished in the top five every race.
Secord, of Oak Hills, will be after his fifth straight win in the Pro 4 feature and has won five of the six events to date. But he trails Rex Lockwood and Chuck Becker II in the standings because he was forced to miss the second race, March 31, due to mechanical problems.
Spencer Samaro has matched Chavez for consistency, finishing third or better in all six Factory Four races, and that has given him a 10-point lead over Tony Dumont, who has three wins, but was hurt by a ninth-place finish on April 21.
Mark Whitson of Riverside has used three wins to take the lead in the Stock Cars USA series. The interesting battle in that class, however, is between Jimmy Rouse Jr. and step-mom Michele Rouse, who are tied for second, eight points behind Whitson, after finishing one-two, respectively, in the most recent race May 19.
Racing at Orange Show Speedway is sponsored by Lucas Oil, Blackhawk Protection, Hype Manufacturing, Del Taco, Star Auto Parts, KTTD radio (AM 1350), Leno’s Rico Taco, Soboba Casino, Budweiser, Hoosier Racing Tires, Frank’s Radio Service, Torco Racing Fuels, Parker Pumper/BSR West, Eibach Springs, JP Striping, Center Chevrolet, Pepsi, Matich Coporation, L. Curti Truck and Equipment, One Stop Landscape Supply, Extreme Exhibits & Logistics, Little Green Onions and the San Bernardino County Sun.
